thebackingboardfiles

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Macross, Gundam, Transformers designer
Shoji Kawamori is one of AsiaPop Manila’s best draws

by rick olivares

In 2015, an article appeared on
Forbes magazine about a little known creator – that is if you live in North
America or Europe – about an anime creator whose mech designs have been copied
or inspired many of today’s robot designs or are featured in American comics
and in film.

It was about Japanese anime
writer, designer, screenwriter and producer, Shoji Kawamori whose work has
inspired the film and modern comics versions of Iron Man, Transformers, and
even the Invisibles!

When he 57-year old Japanese
walked into the SMX Convention Center in Pasay last Friday, August 25, he was
surprised that there was a long line of fans waiting for him.

“I thought that this (AsiaPop
Comicon) was more for American comics,” he said through an interpreter. “So it
was a pleasant surprise to see my work appreciated and that there are fans here
in Manila as well.”

It was Kawamori who designed the
ground-breaking Macross (Robotech in the United States and Europe) anime.
Especially the VF-1J Valkyrie that “transformed” into three modes – the fighter
aircraft, the Gerwalk which is half robot and half fighter plane, and the
battroid mode. The Japanese designer is quick to dispel all the credit. “When I
saw the F-14 Tomcat (the US fighter aircraft during the 1980s), I took a look
at the design and was inspired. What if I could do this with the design and
turn it into a robot?”

The result was a cultural
phenomenon of mech-series and designs.

But Kawamori wasn’t done. He took
Macross one step further with his brilliant mech designs for Mobile Suit Gundam
0083: Stardust Memory where his “Physalis” design is regarded as one of the
best mobile suit designs in the show’s long history.

He also designed many of the
characters that would be used in another cartoon hit called “The Transformers”
including Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Starscream among many others.

We spoke with Kawamori and
intimated our particular passion for the “Stardust Memory” series. “During that
time, I was doing a lot of Gundam drawings. I drew eight different types of
Gundams but there was one design that I liked,” shared Kawamori. “It was a
one-eyed Gundam whose eye would move back and forth from the slit of its
armored head. But the series producers refused that.”

Much to his surprise, years
later, those one-eyed Gundams were used.

As for the modern Transformers
films and cartoons, Kawamori expressed satisfaction. “As a fan, this is
unbelievable – to create memorable characters, icons. If it gives many people
joy, then it does the same for me. I want to be able to do more.”

“I was just a fan of Space
Battleship Yamato,” he recounted of his youthful days. That particular series
captured the then-young boy’s imagination that he found himself tracking down
the studio that created the hit anime series. That production company was
called, Studio Nue, and Kawamori began working for them after his schooling was
done. Then came Macross and Kawamori became an instant legend.

“If it can work for me being
inspired by what I see and grew up watching, maybe it can inspire others too,”
said Kawamori of his work. “I wanted to design for NASA but being an anime
designer and creator isn’t such bad work.”

Kawamori is currently working on
a new Macross series that will be unveiled in 2018 to coincide with the 35th
anniversary of the show. “Right now, I cannot talk about it. Secrecy,” he
maintained. “But it will all be worth it. Right now, I want to enjoy my short
stay in Manila. The fans have been incredible.”

The 2017 AsiaPop Comicon is the
third installment of the country’s biggest comic book and pop culture
convention.

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Just like that, the Summer
Komikon is done. It was another fun day as both a fan and an exhibitor to be
among people with similar tastes.

Some things that were pretty
popular…

Stickers! Fetching for a low as
PhP10, these were a hit with fans.

Freebies! It seems that selling
your komiks isn’t enough. Freebies such as postcards, bookmarkers, stickers, or
pin-ups add to a good buy.

There weren’t a lot of new
releases but here are six books that I picked up and liked:

Tales from the Kingdom of Tundo #1 (story and art by Mark Del Rosario)

A dark fantasy story in the
mythical kingdom of Tundo that was once ruled by Lakan Bunao Dula who forged an
alliance of sorts with the world’s mythical creatures. He wakes up some time
later as an amnesiac. In the midst of a battle with some kapres, he learns his
identity. But that is just the beginning of the mystery.

Not since the late Nick Manabat
have I seen a n artists use a lot of dark and heavy inks. But it does suit this
dark fantasy.

Ellie: An Inktober Story (story and art by Patrick Concepcion)

A thirty-four page black and
white stand-alone piece. For fans of Michael Cho’s Shoplifter or even Craig
Thompson’s work (and Concepcion’s style is reminiscent of the latter). It’s a
mundane story but the art is really fetching.

Mono Kuro: The Windless Valley (story and art by CY Vendivil)

For fans of anthropomorphic
stories, Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo, David Petersen’s Mouseguard, and Jeff
Smith’s Bone. The fourth issue in the adventures of Momiji, a fluffy-tailed
rabbit swordsman sworn to protect the world. Thus far, all the stories in this
series are silent stories with the reader left to figure out things. In this
story, Momiji stands guard at the gate and holds fast against demons.
Interesting stuff. I think that that the story needs a very good inker.

BGMBYN (story by Reginald Tolentino with art by Jap Mikel)

Not a comic per se but an
illustrated story of an alternate history set in 1896 when Philippine insurgents
battle the Spanish empire. Good stuff. The art is reminiscent of Matthew
Reynolds who did excellent work on Image Comics’ short-lived adventure series,
“The Mercenary Sea”.

Bawal Mamatay: May Tumawid Na Rito (by Toto Madayag)

The latest collection of works by
cartoonist Toto Madayag and his satirical look at life. In this follow up to
“P’Cha, E ‘DI Komiks”, Madayag offers his own take on social media humor and
memes.

The Nivene Assumption (story and art by Nib Santos)

When Nivene’s dog, Graeme, utters
a word to her, the young lass must figure out if she is going crazy or if
there’s another purpose to her life akin to an animal whisperer. If you like
Marguerite Bennett and Rafael de Latorre’s “Animosity’. Chapter one of an
ongoing series.

My Ateneo High School classmate and advertising man James Bernardo (who also does komiks with titles like Atingeros and Triggered) picked up the trio of Pariah Vol. 1 & 2 plus Tales from the Kingdom of Tundo.

Comics pro Reno Maniquis who work on Maskardo is one of my faves passed by the booth to pick up Pariah Vol. 1 & 2.

With some friends JV Tanjuatco, Harvey Tolibao, Jason Inocencio, and the Kressh gang.